In Indian Wells, USC football coach Clay Helton doesn't shy from grand expectations

Local high school athletes honored at the Boys and Girls Club of Coachella Valley's Sports Heroes Luncheon.
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USC head coach Clay Helton and quarterback Sam Darnold react after defeating Penn State 52-49 to win the 2017 Rose Bowl Game at the Rose Bowl on January 2, 2017 in Pasadena, California.(Photo: Harry How/Getty Images)

Starting quarterback Sam Darnold is gone, leaving massive shoes to fill, and on this night USC head football coach Clay Helton isn’t quite sure who’ll be his replacement.

“We have 25 practices to figure that out before our first game,” Helton said in Indian Wells on Friday evening.

The uncertainty of replacing a Heisman Trophy finalist and the third overall pick in the 2018 NFL Draft would keep most coaches on edge. But Friday evening at Indian Wells Country Club, where Helton spent time as part of the USC Coaches Tour, he said he won’t allow anyone to use Darnold’s absence as a reason to shirk expectations for the upcoming season, which begins at home against UNLV on Sept 1.

That’s in part because Helton sees a roster loaded with experienced talent at nearly every position, and a trio of quarterbacks that he believes are capable of quality production.

The strength of the team, Helton said, will be the defense, with the majority of the team’s starters returning on a unit that was fifth in the Pac-12 in points and yardage allowed per game, and third in total interceptions and first in quarterback sacks.

And offensively?

“Offensively, I think we have all the pieces to the puzzle,” Helton said, pointing to the experienced offensive line, the emergence of several receivers during spring ball, and the addition of newcomers Amon-Ra St. Brown and Devon Williams — two of the top skill position recruits in the country.

“We have weapons at those skill positions,” Helton said. “All the pieces are there.”

USC head coach Clay Helton.(Photo: Ben Margot/AP)

Quarterbacks Matt Fink and Jack Sears appeared to be the leading candidates on campus in the spring and are two of the three who are expected to compete with incoming freshman JT Daniels of Mater Dei for the starting job.

Helton has embraced the astronomical expectations of the school and its alumni and fans, which demand that USC be in a position to contend for a title every year.

In his first full season, in 2016, he led the Trojans to a 10-3 record, a second-place Pac-12 finish, and a Rose Bowl victory over Penn State, a year after going 5-4 and losing in the Holiday Bowl after taking over for Steve Sarkisian midway through 2015.

Last season, USC finished 11-3 and lost to Ohio State in the Cotton Bowl. Both seasons the Trojans finished in the top 10 of the final Coaches Poll.

This year is a year most would expect the Trojans to perhaps take a step back, solely due to the loss of Darnold and star running back Ronald Jones II. But Helton has, in many ways, exceeded expectations each of the last two years, and that is again the plan.

Whether that happens or not, could very well come down to Darnold’s replacement, and if he can perform adequately enough under what will surely be immense pressure.

“We’ll progress through fall camp and see where we’re at. The guy that’s playing the best in the moment will go out there,” Helton said, adding that the biggest challenge will be identifying who among the quarterbacks is ready to lead.

“He doesn’t have to be a first-round draft pick yet, he doesn’t have to be the superstar yet, he just has to manage the game, manage the team, because he’s got a lot of the pieces to the puzzle around him.”